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00:00This was something which was totally out of blue. And when you see the, you know, the scorecard or rather the batting order of Gujarat Titans, you feel without Pandya, they look clueless.
00:20Hello, good evening, everybody. Welcome to Straight Bat with Mr. Cricket, Anish Sarjan.
00:26It's been a wonderful day today in the IPL matches, the doubleheader and as usual, the second game between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans going to the edge, literally to the wire.
00:39And here we have a weekly roundup where all the 10 fans of the franchises will be available to talk about their team's progress so far, the pros, the cons and everything.
00:53But before that, we go straight to Mr. Anish Sarjan. And Anish, tell me, what was your thought?
01:00Like, did you ever think that Gujarat will pull off such a victory after being down so badly, like almost five down for under 187 or something like that?
01:12Hi Satish and hello to all the lovely fans of different franchises and hello to all the beautiful people of Gulf News.
01:19Honestly, I did not. To be very honest, I had even written down about the nine matches which has happened. I had written CSK had a good week, they won two.
01:28Now I had to scribble and make it one and give Gujarat Titans instead of one loss, two losses, one.
01:35So this was something which was totally out of blue. And when you see the scorecard or rather the batting order of Gujarat Titans, you feel without Pandya, they look clueless.
01:46And then suddenly, that over of Jordan changed the whole game. And of course, you have to give it to Miller. He brought a little bit of life. And after that, CSK have themselves to blame.
01:59Yeah. Now I will go to the most, probably the happiest fan for the day, Akash Patel.
02:05Akash, even though you must have been a Gujarat fan, did you ever think that you guys will end up winning after losing a couple of wickets early on?
02:17No, no. So today's win was completely unexpected. You know, after the first three wickets, even I had given off. I switched off the TV and I thought, now we are not going to win.
02:28But David Miller was excellent. He pulled it off like a true hero. So he was a man for today. And obviously, Rashid Khan, that one over of Chris Jordan was fantastic that he had done.
02:41So, as I said earlier, the middle order is quite strong of Gujarat Titans. With Hardik Pandya, even he was missing today. The overall middle order is still strong.
02:54And the only problem with the Gujarat team is the top order. And they still need to work out. I thought Hrithiman Saha could pull it off today. But even he was not up to the mark.
03:05But I hope that in the coming games, Saha could show some show from his side and we could pull it off. But overall, it was a team performance and I think the team needs to work on the top order.
03:19And that's the main thing that Gujarat Titans need to do.
03:24I know there is a very upset fan, Arjan. Is Arjan there?
03:29Yeah.
03:31I couldn't hear your voice. What happened, Arjan?
03:36You know, it's a bit of a blunder. We could have easily won. We already had the match in our hands. We gave it away. Rashid Khan, 40 of 21 was spectacular.
03:53And David Miller's 94 really, really helped Gujarat Titans. But I think playing holder in the last over was probably the biggest mistake of them all.
04:04Jadeja was still available. He could have… Oh yeah, Jordan. Jadeja was still available. He could have picked himself. But it was clear that it wasn't Jadeja that was doing the picking of the ballers, was it? It was Dhoni.
04:20Obviously, it will be. Because he knows… But I think Jordan is not a bad bet, isn't it? Because he has done so many times in the international cricket. But yeah, what do you think?
04:38Hello, can you hear me?
04:40Arjan.
04:42Jordan is not a bad pick, isn't it?
04:45Yeah, true. But if you think about it this way, if you give away so many runs in such little time, in key moments of a match, where the game is in your hands, all you need to do is calm down the run rate. You can't slip away an over or two of absolute terror.
05:09Okay. Coming back to Anisbhai. Anisbhai, where do you think the match turned? Is it that Rashid Khan's over? Or do you think it was like the wicket had… The nature of the wicket is that you have to take time to get settled in and then score your runs. So, what exactly was the key moment in your opinion?
05:33Well, honestly, Gujarat were never in the chase. They were down and out. Even after 13 overs, they immediately required 12-13 runs. But there was one moment in the match when Miller hit the ball and Shivam Dubey was found wanting. I don't know what was he doing.
05:50I mean, it was a catch which was not a difficult one. Now we can say that you cannot blame Dubey for it because of that moment. But small moments make a difference. Had he taken that catch, the game would have been dead and buried there itself. So, sometimes you have to ensure that you finish the game and don't take it lightly.
06:08And for goodness sake, Dubey was just waiting for Christmas, I guess. He said, let me just wait for the ball. It's like they say, one-drop catch. He thought it's out.
06:19No, but I thought he lost the ball somewhere in the crowd. Sometimes it happens, isn't it?
06:25Now you can say that if I am a captain of CSK, I could see Jadeja showing his frustration. He did not even attempt it. Let's not give excuses about not sighting the ball. I mean, you are playing internationally. Then better wear glasses and stand on the field if you have the excuse of that.
06:42But I also wanted to ask you another important question. There were two moments where two outs were given and both were ended up as not outs. And those two balls, there was a four and there was a single. And that could have got CSK five runs if the umpire had not made that mistake. But do you think the law needs to be revisited?
07:04Once the umpire gives out, it's a dead ball. I don't see that if it's not out, you give the four. Now in hindsight, as emotional fans, we can talk about it. But to be very honest, I don't think this is going to change.
07:24That's exactly from Chennai fans' point of view, I am asking this question.
07:29They still would have lost. In this situation, where the match reached, Miller would have finished the game.
07:35Possible. But still, a five-run addition would have put more pressure on the batting team, isn't it?
07:41Probably. Jordan would have bowled one more no-call.
07:45That's true. Okay. Now coming to the first game of the day. Sunrisers fan Varun, you must be really happy, isn't it?
07:56Yeah, I mean…
07:58Three victories. Three victories on the trot.
08:00It's actually four now.
08:02Four?
08:03It's actually four. So I mean, after coming back from two losses, it's good to see four wins in a row. Gaining the momentum is always important.
08:13And taking back to last year, we only had three wins in the whole season. Now we got four in a row. So that's something special.
08:20But again, people say we're the 140-150 kind of team. And we never used to have that middle order.
08:28Our top order always used to perform like the overseas stars. Now, you know, the middle order is rising to the occasion.
08:33Finally, we're seeing some kind of, you know, lightening up in the middle order.
08:37Makram, Rahul Tripathi, he's literally a dasher. You could see that against Gujarat Titans, against Chennai, against Kolkata.
08:46He's absolutely a dasher. And then Adam Makram, you know, whenever Kane gets out early, right, you need someone to stabilize the innings to play that Kane-Williamson role.
08:55And that's what Adam Makram provides us. He plays, he goes slow first on and then, you know, starts to accelerate slowly.
09:03This SRH kind of, you know, strategy is looking like the New Zealand board strategy.
09:09You know, even if I saw in the World Cup, you know, first they play slow in the power play, like five or six run rate and then, you know, start to increase it from there.
09:17So it's looking good so far. The formula is working for us. And, you know, hopefully we can just continue the momentum.
09:23And coming to Anmol Verma. Punjab losing too many wickets early. What is happening with Punjab's batting, Anmol? Is Anmol there?
09:35Yeah, yeah. It is again a really mixed up week for Punjab because they win one, they lose one.
09:44And they are really messing up with the batting. Batting was the strength of Punjab Kings.
09:49As we see Shikhar Dhawan, Meghan Garwal, everyone, Liam Livingstone, Bayestro. But none of them is performing except Liam Livingstone.
09:58In the last match against Mumbai, Dhawan and Mike anchored the innings and that led to a good score and a good win against the Mumbai Indians.
10:09But this time it was an easy 170 or 180 score. But that Umran Malik's last over really impressed all of the Indian fans, really impressed us.
10:20And he got four wickets and a maiden over. That changed the game and cost us the two points also.
10:28Okay. Now the next big talk should be around Mumbai Indians. Naresh, do you think Mumbai will come back from here?
10:40Come back in the sense, if you talk about playoffs, let's be realistic, no. Get some wins, that's the need of the hour.
10:50That's the need to boost the morale of the players, currently the entire team together. And for that, Rohit Sharma has to get the tactics right.
10:59There are some tactics on the field and there are some decisions made of the playing XI that have really been very surprising.
11:07He has taken two overseas in a game, then followed with three and then he is back to four. Tim David playing only two games.
11:17Yes, the replacement of Tim David was Bravis. He also struggled in the first two but then we have seen what he can do.
11:24A youngster getting that opportunity. But the thing is about who is Bumrah's partner and who is going to help Bumrah contain the opposition.
11:36Because of which Bumrah is not starting the inning with the bowling spell and that is something that needs to be corrected right away.
11:44Your best bowler needs to start the spell of the inning. So, these are small things. But the biggest concern now that has cropped up is Rohit and Ishan together not scoring.
11:55So, that is another thing that quickly needs to be fixed. I think 3-4-5 look very good. Polar, the finisher, has got the opportunities but has not done it.
12:07He has not been performing since last season, isn't it? Not much. He does it one game and maybe another 4-5 games he doesn't perform.
12:14I think Mumbai looked at somebody other than Polar in the auction?
12:21Well, he was one of the retained players and I would back the four retained. All the four that were retained, I think they were correct.
12:32And the teams that have retained four, definitely they had more choice to choose from. So, it is a very difficult decision they have made.
12:39Both Chennai and Mumbai retained four each. This means they had many more they wanted but the rule does not permit.
12:46So, from the retention, I think they were not wrong. But last year also, I think the only highlight last year was that win against CSK only in Delhi.
12:57When we moved out of Chennai where we were struggling. But that aside, I think Polar also needs to step up.
13:04Because he is actually the senior most in the franchise. He has come into the team much before Rohit Sharma has.
13:12So, that is one of the reasons of his retention also. So, it is time he needs to step up.
13:18Other thing about Rohit Sharma is Polar played one game as a 6th bowler, bowled 4 overs. One game as a 5th bowler, bowled 4 overs and then he hasn't bowled.
13:27You know, he needs to get that act together. He wants to use Polar, he wants to use Tilak Verma.
13:34Utilize them as 6th bowlers so that if you feel there is a main bowler going for runs which is happening in every game, one bowler goes away for 20+, that gets well covered up.
13:45So, I think these tactics need to be well put in place. And Boomerang needs to start up upfront. And Ishan and Rohit have to step up in the top.
13:54Okay. There seems to be lot of tactical errors from Dubai.
13:59Yeah, going back to the drawing board. Basically, it's a good gap they have. 4 days gap. They are playing CSK next who morally should also be upset today.
14:08So, you know, it's like both the even teams are meeting each other on Thursday.
14:14Okay. Now, another positive team that… Okay, we have spoken about a few misses like MI. But the other positive factor could be Royal Challengers Bangalore.
14:25Sanjay, what is your feeling? Are you guys now thinking realistically that you will end the duck of the trophy or what is your thought?
14:38Seems everybody is laughing if you tell the trophy.
14:41And when you take this full failure for our top order batsmen. No one scored, no Faf, no Anarjan, no Virat Kohli.
14:53Virat Kohli got the same fashion when he was on the last game. Maxwell didn't call.
14:59So, somewhere, the way Maxwell was playing, I thought he might get around some 65 to 70 runs.
15:087 overs or 8 overs, we were 48 for 3 and he takes us directly to 9 overs, he takes us to…
15:16So, later on, yes, he gave away his wicket playing that shot again. At that time, I just thought wherever you see Lalith Yadav.
15:25Run out is Lalith Yadav, then the catch taken is again Lalith Yadav. When DK came in, he was having a lot of pressure because even Suyash couldn't perform because it was his second match.
15:38So, that made him play that silly shot. But DK, when he started, we all thought, why is he starting slowly?
15:47This is the first time we saw him starting slow in the season. Like 11 balls, he scored somewhere around 5 runs.
15:53And I don't know what made him change. The equation just changed from 50 strike rate, he just took the match to 200.
15:59Like 34 balls, 66 runs and that 18th over of Mustafizur Rahman getting 28 runs, that actually changed the whole scenario.
16:07At some particular point of time, I was like, no, RCB might not score 140 or 150 also because the way they are playing, it's something like we are going to lose the match.
16:18But after seeing DK's innings, I was something happy. And as Anisad told last match, yes, Siraj is back for just one match, but we can't rely on him.
16:28We can't rely on Siraj because next year, we don't know whether he'll leak runs or he'll take wickets.
16:36But yes, Josh Hazlut, I'm very happy for Josh Hazlut. He has made his comeback now quite amazingly.
16:44And Hasaranga has been leaking runs. That's his major concern. He has to look for his economy and then we are set, I guess.
16:51Very good. So now there are about 3 or 4 teams who have showed a lot of promise.
16:58Anisbhai, you think Delhi, Rajasthan, Kolkata, are they losing their way after a positive start?
17:13After speaking to you, I'll go to the fans after that.
17:16Yeah, Satish. To be very honest, Delhi on paper looks to me at least the strongest side on paper.
17:24But when you see them, the way they gifted away the game, I would not say gifted.
17:29Whenever a new batsman comes, he finds it difficult. We saw Saha finding it difficult. We saw Warner finding it difficult.
17:34Mitchell Marsh was one of the kids who probably batted 20% of the overs, 24 balls for 14.
17:41And that cost the game. Sometimes I feel the coach should probably understand because you are chasing 190, which is almost 9.5 overs.
17:49You can pull him back and say, boss, it's fine, you are not having a day.
17:53Because now that retired hurt thing has been taken into account, you could have called him back.
17:57And when you talk about the other teams, you said about…
18:00Rajasthan and Kolkata also.
18:03Rajasthan Royals. I have to blame only one person, that is Sanju Samson. I mean, I feel sorry.
18:08You agree to me now, at least finally.
18:11No, I have always said Sanju Samson is a player who slatters, deceives. Time and again, he does that.
18:18And his decisions really keep baffling me.
18:22And in the last match, again, we all know what Gunder is. Ashwin to come at one down.
18:29I mean, I have nothing to say. If we go on, it will be an hour's discussion.
18:34I only say good luck to RCB.
18:36I just want to talk quickly about Punjab. Yeah, RR.
18:40One point about Punjab before I give it to the fans.
18:42You know, today in the 15th over, there was a game-defining moment, it actually happened.
18:48Shah Rukh Khan did not go for that second run.
18:50And then he probably played for three or four balls.
18:53And after that, Livingstone batted three balls in the last four overs.
18:56Can you imagine a player who is well-set?
18:59And that is called brain freeze. I don't know what happens with the management or the players.
19:03They just send players, they don't tell him, give a single to the guy who is set.
19:07Everybody wants to play the glory shot.
19:09But that's what this is.
19:11Marginal players like Shivam Dubey's catch, not going for the catch, not giving Livingstone the strike,
19:18sending Rahul in Ashwin and what not.
19:21Rahul last time not sending Stoinis. All basic mistakes.
19:25True. Now let's come to Yatharth.
19:30Yatharth, what do you think, Delhi? What's happening?
19:35I think Yatharth is not around.
19:42Yatharth is not around?
19:44No.
19:45Okay. Fine. Then let's go to Rajasthan's Ram.
19:51Ram, do you think Anisbhai is justified in his comment on Sanju being the...
19:58Tactical mistakes and some basic errors are being done?
20:03No, absolutely. 100%.
20:05Because most of the games, I mean, yeah, some of the tactical decisions like taking Ashwin out.
20:10Yeah, it might sound very cool.
20:12But end of the day, many decisions like holding back Yuzhi Chahal in that game against RCB.
20:17RCB were down. They were in deep trouble.
20:20Holding back Chahal when he was bowling so well.
20:23Let DK and let Shahbaz get that time to get set.
20:27And then you saw, we lost the match.
20:28In the last match again, going down, sending Ashwin one down the order.
20:32I mean, yeah, it's very nice to do all these experimental things.
20:34But the objective is to win matches.
20:37Secondly, one more problem that has always plagued Rajasthan is the inconsistency of Sanju Samson, the batsman.
20:43You start off the first match. In every season, we start off the first match, second match.
20:47We win. We have good inputs.
20:49And then suddenly, Sanju Samson just tapers away.
20:52And then we rely completely on two guys.
20:55This season, it's Butler. I mean, it's always been Butler.
20:57This season, it's Butler and Hetmail.
20:59But our Indian contingent, the Kiwis who came in, Rassi, Wander, Dusan, all of them have got to step up.
21:06So, I think, yeah, what I said at the start of the season also was, we rely very heavily on that first 11.
21:12Anybody goes out of that first 11 and then we are in trouble.
21:15So, we missed Bolt very badly last match.
21:17So, yeah, I think in terms of tactics, in terms of the decisions and in terms of the playing 11, there have been some mishaps.
21:24And I don't know why.
21:25One more thing I would say, Anishbhai, is I don't know why.
21:28I mean, I need to hear from you as well.
21:30If you see the promise that Rajasthan sees in Riyan Parag, because I don't see it.
21:33It's been four years since he scored a half century.
21:36He has come across in newspapers saying, I could be a finisher for India.
21:40But I am like, I think first he needs to become a finisher for Rajasthan before he even thinks about that.
21:43So, I don't know. I think we have got some batter in the ranks.
21:48We have got Karun Nair who is waiting, who has not got a game yet.
21:50The only contribution he did was drop a catch and deny Yuzhi a hat-trick.
21:55But other than that, I think the batting needs to be consistent.
21:59Bowling-wise, I think we are fine.
22:01Yuzhi Chawla is a dream. I can't believe he got both Yuzhi and Ashwin.
22:05Ashwin has not picked the wickets but he has mostly been economical.
22:08So, we are fine on the bowling front. Bolt is great.
22:10We have got a new guy, Kuldeep, who did very well.
22:12Prasit Krishna is bowling better right now.
22:14So, bowling-wise, we are fine.
22:15For the first time, Rajasthan has got a very good bowling attack.
22:17But again, it is the batting inconsistency and these tactical errors constantly that is letting us down.
22:22So, hopefully, we get that right.
22:24And then, I think this year is one of the best years we have got in terms of the team on paper.
22:29Prasthan has always been a weaker team on paper.
22:31But yeah, I think Samson needs to up his game.
22:34I don't know if he really wants to be in contention both in the Indian team and this IPL.
22:39Great.
22:40Maaz has been waiting for a long time to talk about his favourite team, KKR.
22:46Very inconsistent, isn't it?
22:52Like you mentioned, a few teams that have taken a positive start but somewhere lost their way.
22:56I think KKR will be one of those teams.
22:59You know, we had a promising start.
23:01Everything was going good.
23:02But as I have mentioned earlier, we haven't played the best cricket yet.
23:06There hasn't been a single performance like, for example, Russells or Pat Cummins or Umesh Yadav that has won us the games.
23:12There hasn't been a collective effort from the entire team where we have won the match.
23:16So, we are sitting in the middle of the table.
23:19Three wins, three losses.
23:20And one thing that I would really want to fix is our power play batting.
23:24Removal of Rahane was a good move.
23:27But I don't know if Finch is the right replacement.
23:29Because as we have seen, he has been up and down throughout his last two years.
23:34So, maybe we can try someone, a local player who could be a good addition to the top.
23:40Because, you know, a not good start from the other end is putting pressure on Venkatesh Iyer.
23:44No, but why not Sunil Narayan?
23:46No, but again, Venkatesh Iyer's form is also a concern.
23:49As well as, why not Sunil Narayan who has given Kolkata some very good starts in the past when Kolkata has done well?
23:56Yeah, exactly. That's an option.
23:58But if we don't want to gamble with Sunil Narayan, we can have a proper opener.
24:03Because, you know, the form of Rahane or even Finch in the last match has somewhat affected Venkatesh Iyer's form as well.
24:09Because it's putting pressure on the other established opener.
24:12And another thing would be, you know, I think that's one thing that I would like to fix.
24:17Otherwise, it's all going fine.
24:19And, you know, like three losses that we had, it's been the ex-KKR players that have been hurting us.
24:24Bangalore match, it has been Dinesh Karthik.
24:27Delhi match, Kuldeep Yadav.
24:28And the previous match, as you saw, it was Rahul Tripathi.
24:31So, I just hope tomorrow Prasit Krishna doesn't come into the party and spoil the game for us.
24:35Otherwise...
24:36So, you should have retained all these players then.
24:39I mean, looking at Mumbai, I wouldn't say much on retention.
24:44But we have a better team.
24:46So, I hope we do win the next matches and come back on track.
24:50Good luck. Good luck to you.
24:53Shresth, Shresth must be happy with the victory and KL Rahul's batting yesterday.
25:01Shresth, what do you think?
25:03Lucknow, from now, where will they go as a debutant?
25:07They have done very, very well.
25:09So, do you think they still have a chance to win the title?
25:13What will happen, Shresth?
25:15Yeah, I think they very much have a chance now to win the title.
25:19As you saw yesterday's match, first of all, KL Rahul hats off.
25:24He took good responsibility as a captain and lead it from the front.
25:30And to give a target of 200, it's a really good job.
25:35So, I think the middle order should be a little bit more equipped.
25:43Maybe Stoinis could have, as I said before also, he could have taken him to go 4, 5 or 6 down maybe.
25:52Because he always tends to strike from the start, hit from the start.
25:57But even the bowling, he has not bowled. He has bowled two good overs.
26:01But somehow, Rahul doesn't seem to be having the confidence in Stoinis, isn't it?
26:05And that's why you can also answer it after Shresth.
26:08No, let Shresth say.
26:11Yeah, I was saying that.
26:13But as far as Stoinis is concerned, he is trying with the ball as well.
26:18He took few wickets in the last match, I guess one wicket.
26:23But as far as the bowling is concerned, Avish has been bowling really well.
26:28Last match, he took three wickets and gave 30 runs.
26:33So, the plus point is obviously the top order for now.
26:37And I think we have to just work on the middle order.
26:40Maybe the opposition of backers, maybe Manish Pandey and Deepak Udha, they still have to fire.
26:47And of course, Stoinis.
26:50So, maybe other than Avish, I think other bowlers have to step up.
26:58And yeah, if the middle order fires, I think they will pretty much be unstoppable.
27:09And we all hope for KL Rahul now.
27:13So that he plays like this and keeps winning matches for our side.
27:19Very good. Good luck.
27:21Anisbhai, Rahul and his captaincy, that's another favourite topic for us, isn't it?
27:32Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.
27:34No, like yesterday again, Rahul picked Stoinis.
27:38But he gave Stoinis' ball two good overs.
27:41But subsequently, he was not allowed to finish his spell.
27:45What's happening there?
27:46I have no idea, to be honest.
27:48With Rahul and his captainship, I sometimes feel he probably has this…
27:54If you have all seen the movie Ghajini, he has that memory loss.
27:58So, maybe things to forget about that there is a player called Stoinis.
28:01But as long as he scores the runs and wins the match, which he did it for his team.
28:05So, you have to give credit to them.
28:07So, we wouldn't talk much on it.
28:09But in the end, I believe it's the good captain in this tournament who fires not only with the bat and ball.
28:16But with his brains, he is going to have his hands on this cup.
28:18This is my judgement.
28:19Correct. So, we are heading into another interesting week.
28:23What do you think, Anisbhai?
28:25It will be the next week. You can take it forward.
28:28You can throw your regular questions.
28:30Of course, you can also talk about the competition that's going on.
28:34Yeah. You know, before I talk about the competition, I just made a note.
28:38This week was the best for Sunrisers with three wins.
28:41Chennai, I am afraid, 2-1.
28:43I had written two. But I have to slash it and make it one.
28:46RCB, one win, one loss.
28:48Gujarat, two wins. Rather, two losses it could have been.
28:51But thanks to Miller and Rashid.
28:55So, two wins, one loss.
28:56Punjab, as he said, they win one, they lose one.
28:59And Lucknow, win one and one loss.
29:02So, coming forward, it's a very tight group.
29:04Only Gujarat Titans probably quite ahead with two extra points.
29:08But in the end, I feel the team to watch out is Sunrisers.
29:12And I remember seeing in my first week, they seem to be playing the old classical cricket.
29:17And playing the old school cricket.
29:18It might be the whipping boys.
29:19But what is the best part about Sunrisers?
29:23Which I think all of you will agree that there is no big name bearing Williamson.
29:26Puran, you might say as a big name.
29:29But they are all youngsters.
29:30And all are hungry to prove and give that part.
29:33So, they are all delivering to the demands of Kane Williamson and the coach Tom Moody.
29:38That is why Sunrisers probably stand out.
29:40As a team, they might not look great, flamboyant, glamorous like the Delhi or the KKR.
29:44But to me, they look the team to beat.
29:47Very good.
29:49And each one of you can pick your winner for the next week.
29:54I think, Anishbhai, you didn't speak about the competition.
29:58Yeah, the competition, we all know that predicting a winner like today.
30:02It was all CSK.
30:03And suddenly, the game changed.
30:05And it became Gujarat.
30:06Predict the winner and walk away with a wonderful jacket.
30:09Rather, T-shirt, track and cap.
30:11And a digital subscription of Gulp News.
30:13Okay, let's start with Arjan.
30:18Who has been like…
30:20Are you still upset?
30:23Yeah, I am very upset.
30:28Okay, so tell me.
30:32Has anything changed?
30:33Like, who will be the winner now?
30:35Is there any change in the thought process?
30:38Or what are your thoughts after this week?
30:42Who will win the title?
30:44I think now, after a few weeks of the IPL has actually commenced.
30:52Mumbai is out of the competition, 100%.
30:56But I think, like, the new teams are definitely going to make it to the qualifiers.
31:01If you think about it, the new teams got really, really lucky in the auctions.
31:06And maybe I could add in, I'll say, KKR.
31:17Okay.
31:18And for the other team, for the fourth team, I would say it would probably be Rajasthan.
31:30Okay.
31:31Now, everybody, starting with Naresh.
31:34Your four picks for the qualifiers now.
31:38Now, four picks?
31:40Gujarat and RCB for sure.
31:45Punjab, Rajasthan, Lucknow.
31:47Two of these three is what I feel.
31:49But I just want to add to what Anishbhai was saying on Hyderabad.
31:53You give Kane Williamson the entire season to lead, he'll take you through.
31:57You know, he did it in 2018.
31:59He went on to play the finals.
32:01You know, and the brains of a captain, I think Kane Williamson is very difficult to beat on that bit.
32:09So, Hyderabad, the way they have made a comeback now.
32:12We'll have to see how they move ahead in the next few games.
32:15Today belonged to South Africa, to be honest.
32:17Makram and Miller, it belonged to South Africa today.
32:19Correct. Correct. Yes. Nice.
32:22Okay. Ram, four qualifiers.
32:27For me, the three which I think are assured is Gujarat, Lucknow and RCB.
32:33I feel like the strong guys will definitely make it.
32:35Hope is there that Rajasthan comes into that fourth place somehow.
32:39But the competition that I see for that is Sunrisers.
32:42Because as I said, they are playing the old classic form of cricket.
32:45So, my fourth pick would be either RR or Sunrisers.
32:48But I think Gujarat, Lucknow and RCB seem to be short on time.
32:52Okay. Sanjay, quickly.
32:54My first team will be Gujarat because based on their form, they have just lost one match.
33:00And their net run rate seems to be good, Gujarat.
33:03And Lucknow, I would disagree because as far as Rahul is the captain,
33:08I am pretty sure that they are out of the tournament.
33:10So, second team will be my team, RCB.
33:13And third, I might see SRH coming because the way they are coming back is something which is surprising.
33:18They lost 2-2. Natarajan is back in form.
33:22Without Sundar also, their spinners are performing well.
33:25So, the top order collapsed. Some contribution from the top order, SRH is in.
33:29And the third team is a battle between...
33:36Sorry?
33:37Fourth position is Rajasthan and KKR. Any one of the teams.
33:42Okay. Anmol, your pick.
33:46My pick will be first, of course, Gujarat.
33:50Second is SRH and Lucknow.
33:54And I would say that Rajasthan.
33:57Okay. Maaz?
34:00So, I will go with Gujarat, Lucknow, KKR.
34:03I would love to say RCB but I don't want them to win without Kohli being the captain.
34:08So, I would go with SRH.
34:11Okay.
34:14Now, Akash?
34:19It's Srisanth.
34:22Srisanth.
34:24Akash is not.
34:26Oh, okay. Srisanth. Sorry.
34:30No, Akash is there. Akash Patel is there, of course.
34:36So, my top four pick would be Gujarat, Hyderabad, Lucknow and RCB.
34:41Very good. Quick one. Very fast.
34:44Okay. Shresth?
34:46So, my top four would be Gujarat, RCB, Lucknow and maybe Rajasthan.
34:54Okay. Now, last but not least, Varun must be waiting to talk about his team.
34:59Yeah, Varun. Go for it.
35:01I'm gonna go with the Gujarat Titans first and foremost.
35:04They look like a team to beat, first of all.
35:06Anyway, we beat them. So, not a big deal.
35:09So, first is Gujarat, second is Hyderabad, third is Bangalore and fourth is Lucknow.
35:15Great. Anishbhai, your pick?
35:18I have to go with Sunrisers, Hyderabad, Gujarat.
35:21I will still back Delhi. Somehow, I don't know.
35:24Once they get their act together, they will be difficult because they look strong on paper.
35:28And the fourth is a tough one, even though I want RCB.
35:33But they depend too much on only one guy, DK and Harshal Patel with the ball.
35:38So, I'll go with Lucknow.
35:41Okay. My pick would be Gujarat.
35:45I think the other day I said that they might win the title.
35:47So, Gujarat, RCB.
35:50Yes, Sunrisers are looking good.
35:54But I'm still not sure.
35:56And the fourth, I will still go with Lucknow.
36:00Possibly, Anishbhai might not agree.
36:04But still, I will go with Lucknow.
36:06No, I also said Lucknow.
36:08Okay.
36:09Okay.
36:10Right.
36:11Okay.
36:12Thanks everyone for the wonderful views of you guys.
36:16Keep watching.
36:17Keep following the social media channels of Gulf News.
36:20And see you next week.